The present invention relates generally to ice chests and coolers and, more particularly, to an ice chest insert and table that may be inserted into the interior space of ice chests of all sizes and which enables dry food items to be stored above the ice and water line while beverages and cold-stored items may be nestled into the ice and easily accessed without removing the entire insert.
Packing a cooler or ice chest with ice, food, and beverages, such as when preparing for tailgating, a picnic, or even for lunch on the job, is that dry food items such as sandwiches, crackers, potato chips, and the like become soggy or lose their crispiness. The alternative is to leave dry food items out in the heat while only nestling canned beverages or sealed containers in the iced cooler. Another problem is that products that partition the interior of a cooler for the purpose of separating food and beverage items often require the entire shelving system or insert to be removed from the cooler in order to access beverage cans or other containers nestled in the ice or cold water. Although various organizer systems are presumably effective for their intended uses, the existing devices are still inadequate to adjust to both longitudinal and vertical size differences of various coolers; in other words, existing products are not universally useful for use with virtually any cooler or ice chest. In addition, the insert may not also be useful as a serving or working table when removed from the cooler.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have an ice chest insert and table that overcomes the limitations identified above and satisfies the objects of the invention identified below.